Party News
Part 4, Highlights 2023 Legislative Session
As promised, here is the fourth, and last, installment of Legislative Session Highlights for 2023. Included here are human rights, gun safety, voting rights and election safety.
HUMAN RIGHTS:Treating all New Mexicans with the respect and dignity they deserve
- Human Rights Modernization Act (HB 207) – Modernizing the state’s anti-discrimination law by adding explicit protections for LGBTQ people.
- No life sentences for juveniles, aka the Second Chance Bill (SB 64) – Eliminates life sentences for young offenders and allows parole hearings after 15-25 years.
- Medical and geriatric parole (SB 29) – Allowing early parole for elderly, terminally ill inmates.
- Attorney General Civil Rights Division (SB 426) – Implemented in the AG’s office, which will enforce, intervene and prosecute civil rights violations. The Civil Rights Division will also collect information and make policy recommendations to public bodies relating to the protection of civil rights. Through this legislation, the Attorney General will oversee a centralized and coordinated operation to uphold existing civil rights protections established in the New Mexico Human Rights Act and New Mexico Civil Rights Act.
- No publication required for name change (HB 31) – Protects the safety and privacy of New Mexicans seeking to legally change their name.
- Driver’s license suspension penalties (SB 47) – Eliminates suspension of a driver’s license as a penalty for non-repayment of fines.
Special immigrant juvenile classification (HB 15) – Creates a path for young migrants for whom returning to their home country is not in their best interest, to safely stay in the U.S.
GUN SAFETY: Protecting our families and children from gun violence
- Unlawful access to a firearm by a minor, aka Bennie’s Bill (HB 9) – A safe storage bill to protect children from gun violence and tragic accidents by making sure adults store their firearms responsibly.
- Purchase of firearms for another (HB 306) – Prohibits “straw purchases” of firearms, in which one person purchases firearms for someone who can’t legally own one.
VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION SAFETY: Making our elections safe and accessible
- The New Mexico Voting Rights Act (House Bill 4) – Bolsters the safety and integrity of New Mexico’s elections. Includes: streamlining the voter registration process for formerly incarcerated New Mexicans so they can better reintegrate into civic society; establishes the Native American Voting Rights Act to support tribal election officials; creates a voluntary, permanent vote-by-mail list; implements automatic voter registration at the motor vehicle department and other state agencies.
- Election administration changes (Senate Bill 180) – Legislation that modernizes election security and administration in New Mexico by making updates to the Election Code. Focused primarily on provisions to aid election administrators in the efficient conduct of elections, the bill provides measures to secure sensitive voter data, increase compensation for election workers, make permanent the Secretary of State’s election security program, update timelines and procedures for mail-in ballots and allow for electronic nominating petition signatures.
- Senate Bill 43 focuses on those on the front lines of our democracy—election workers and officials—to ensure they are able to safely and effectively administer our elections without fear of intimidation. The crime of intimidation, a fourth-degree felony, will now include acts against employees and agents of the Secretary of State, county clerks’ and municipal clerks’ offices or election officials themselves.
There were 246 bills sent to the governor, 211 bills were signed and the rest vetoed. Part of HB 547 (the tax bill) was partially vetoed. You can check all of this out at http://www.nmlegis.gov
Thanks so much for following what is happening in your government.
Senator Liz Stefanics
New 2023 DPSFC Ward Boundaries
Discover the new DPSFC Ward Boundaries for 2023
Read all about it CLICK HERE
Democratic Party of Santa Fe County- Elections
Murphy to lead Young Dems
Connor Leavy Murphy, a policy analyst with the City of Santa Fe in the City Attorney’s Office and the Office of Legislation and Policy Innovation, has been named the new president of the Santa Fe County Young Democrats. He assumes the position following the resignation of Kate Kennedy after many years of service.
Murphy previously worked as a field organizer with Mission for Arizona, the Arizona Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign, to re-elect U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and other Democrats on the ballot in 2022. Prior to that, he worked as a legal document specialist at RR Donnelley legal services.
Murphy is a lifelong Democrat. “As a person with a disability, the son of an immigrant, and as a member of the LGTBQIA+ community,” he said, “I am inspired by Democrats championing an inclusive future for all.” He hopes to continue the notable work of the previous leadership team to serve as a community partner and create a more equitable and inclusive community.
Santa Fe County Young Democrats (ages 18-34) are seeking a vice chair, secretary, and treasurer. If you or someone you know is enthusiastic about engaging young Democrats to contact .
A 2020 graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Murphy earned a master of legal studies (MLS) and was an ASU Achievement Scholar at ASU Law. In the summer following his first year of graduate school, he gained experience in immigration law at a local firm, where he drafted legal memoranda. Subsequently, he served as president of ASU Law’s International Law Society.
Prior to earning his MLS, Murphy worked as a Donald W. Reynolds Fellow with the Carnegie-Knight News21 Initiative, where he reported on the response of local, state, and federal law enforcement to hate crimes across the United States. He received the 2019 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in the college category as a member of News21.
As an undergraduate, he studied political science and journalism with an emphasis on foreign affairs. He completed numerous internships as an undergraduate, including internships with the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Commercial Service. Subsequently, he served as an intern with the U.S. Department of State in Milan, Italy. Murphy then moved to Brussels, Belgium, and completed an editorial internship with POLITICO Europe, where he produced over 80 articles on Transatlantic and European affairs.
He is a dual citizen of the United States and the Republic of Ireland and regularly travels back to his mother’s hometown of Dundalk, Ireland. In his spare time, Murphy plays soccer, is a Lego enthusiast, and enjoys spending time with his dog Saturn.
Team Joe Newsletter
Happy Holidays!
As we reflect on 2022 and look ahead to the new year, we wanted to say thank you. Because of Democrats like you, our party has accomplished so much for the American people. Just take a look:
We couldn’t do this work without your support. Check out what else President Biden and the Democratic Party have been up to in the final Team Joe newsletter of the year →
LOWERING HEALTH CARE COSTS
Under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the price of insulin will be capped at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare — and not a single Republican voted for it.
Seniors and those on Medicare will see the benefits of these cost-saving measures. The Inflation Reduction Act:
- locks in on average $800 per year lower healthcare premiums for 13 million Americans,
- lowers seniors’ prescription drug prices, and caps their out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year,
- and so much more!
LEARN MORE
MAKING HISTORY ON THE CIRCUIT COURTS
Ninety-seven — That’s the number of Article III judges President Biden and Senate Democrats have confirmed over the last two years — including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. It also includes 28 circuit court judges and 68 district court judges — 67% of whom are people of color.
That’s not all — President Biden has appointed more public defenders to the circuit court than any of his predecessors.
HISTORIC INVESTMENTS IN THE USPS
On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced a historic $9.6 billion investment over the next five years to electrify its delivery fleet — including $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act.
This investment will sustain reliable mail service to Americans while modernizing the fleet, reducing operating costs, increasing clean air in our neighborhoods, creating jobs, and improving public health.
READ MORE
GET YOUR COVID-19 TESTS AHEAD OF THE HOLIDAYS
Spread the word to your friends and family: Americans can receive another four FREE COVID-19 tests delivered to their homes.
These free at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests may only be available for a limited time. Request yours ahead of the holidays and have them delivered straight to your door:
REQUEST YOUR COVID-19 TESTS
BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR
We cannot stress this enough: The support of this grassroots team was instrumental in all of our success this past year. From passing critical legislation to electing Democrats nationwide in last month’s midterms, we could not have done it without you.
But there is still so much work ahead. Our party is relying on this grassroots team as we build the strong infrastructure Democratic candidates will need to run and win in 2023 and beyond.
We’ll see you in 2023,
Team Joe
Former Senator Dede Feldman (Dist. 13) Speaks Out on Non-Paid Legislators
The Blue Review is focusing on legislative salaries as an issue deserving Democratic support, in hopes that giving context to the problems of an all-volunteer legislature will help trigger significant change. This article is part of that series.
Legislators Caught in Antiquated System
By Former Senator Dede Feldman (District 13)
For two decades, New Mexico legislators, Democrats, and Republicans alike have known that serving in an unpaid, largely understaffed body charged with making decisions that affect the lives, health, and livelihood of millions is a losing proposition. The losers are not just the exhausted legislators themselves who struggle to balance day jobs, interim committees, demanding constituents, public scrutiny, and complex issues. It is the entire state, long-bashed by critics on all sides for lagging behind others in economic development and education.
Our state deserves a modern, salaried legislature with lengthened sessions and adequate staff to tackle the complex issues we face. No one knows this better than the legislators themselves.
During my tenure in the Senate, I saw scores of bills introduced to remedy the situation by paying legislators, in one way or another, or at least compensating them for the time and money they spend on constituent services or studying the issues in interim committee or making important decisions during the session.
In 2002 Rep. Leo Watchman, from the Navajo reservation, suggested that salaries be pegged at no more than the average of what legislators are paid in the five contiguous states. Five years later Rep. Ken Martinez and Sen. Mary Jane Garcia suggested a salary of 15% of what NM Supreme Court Judges are paid. The same year Sen. Shannon Robinson suggested that it be the same salary that Class A county commisioners earn. In 2012 I suggested an annual $10,000 reimbursement for constituent services, which many legislators now pay out of campaign funds.
It wasn’t just Democrats who realized legislators need to be paid. Republicans knew too. In 2003 Sen. Allen Hurt, A doctor from the Farmington area, proposed legislators receive an annual salary equal to the federal poverty level for a family of four—to be used solely for constituent services. In 2008 Senator Leonard Lee Rawson proposed the salaries be 15% of US Congressional salaries; in 2016 Rep. Terry McMillan suggested annual salaries equal to the median NM household income.
In the past several years, legislators have returned to this theme, with more suggested constitutional amendments, mostly referring the matter to commissions at arms-length from the legislature itself, which is barred from directly increasing salary levels for themselves by the constitution. The issue will resurface again this coming session.
This time, there is a new crop of legislators—many of them younger women trying to juggle young families, COVID, and the need to quickly come up to speed on complex issues like utility regulation, broadband, and water rights. Rep. Tara Lujan, who considers herself a member of a “working moms” caucus in the House, is trying to home-school her 2nd grader and get up to speed on the issues in nine different interim committees. She had to quit her full-time job because it conflicted with legislative service, which now takes up all of her time. She’s living off her savings. “It’s unsustainable,” she says.
“All that juggling, affects who can serve,” says another new House member, Rep. Linda Serrato, from Santa Fe. “Society has changed. We used to be able to depend on abuelos or grandparents to help with childcare, but times have changed.” Serrato says that she really wants to give the issues her full attention but without staff it is difficult. She and another legislator are currently sharing a part-time college student to assist them.” Otherwise, you end up depending on lobbyists for information. It’s not the same as a staff.”
Both legislators said a salary would make all the difference. Lujan said she would not have to look for work and Serrato said it would allow her to give up her day job.
Perhaps the best example of how the lack of salary affects who can serve is former Representative Linda Trujillo, also from Santa Fe. Now employed by the state, she quit the citizen legislature in July of 2020, in the middle of her term. A lawyer, she had cut back her practice by 25% and said she simply could not make ends meet.
“I’m not the only one who is financially struggling in the legislature,” Trujillo told the Santa Fe New Mexican at the time.
The cost of public service is limiting those who run and serve, with younger, working-age legislators with lower incomes than those who own businesses or are retired still in the minority—and burning out. The policies that come out of the antiquated structure, set by the constitution in 1912, are not the flexible, innovative, representative ones we deserve.
It’s long past time to enter the modern era, with a salaried legislature, a longer session, and a staff that reduces dependence on lobbyists and allows elected representatives and senators to better serve their constituents.
Dede Feldman currently serves as a consultant to Common Cause New Mexico.
Voting Matters – March Forward
Bernadette Vadurro, SDCDP Chair
In the days running up to the 2022 mid-term election, like other Democrats I was dismayed over the polls and the overt cheering for a supposed red wave, so much so that I finally turned it all off, just before posting on my personal social media pages, TRUST NO POLL…voting is the only poll that counts!
I simply could not bring myself to believe that families would be more concerned over the increased cost of eggs than the loss of personal reproductive rights. I could not believe that voters would be bamboozled into thinking that one party was responsible for inflation rather than understanding that it is occurring globally as a result of factors beyond our control, including corporate greed. I could not believe that voters would not see through the deceptive lies consistently shoved at us and would dare to take a chance on another Trumpian TV personality with zero experience.
Republican candidates at every level from national to local offices offered anger, division, and paralysis. They offered to reduce the already fragile social safety net, give more tax breaks to the rich and ignore the signs (all too clear here in New Mexico) of climate change. No wonder voters across the Land of Enchantment and the country rejected those messages and the messengers who carried them.
New Mexicans want a government that works effectively for them. We want a cleaner, more sustainable environment in which our air, water, and lands are safeguarded. We want human dignity and basic rights protected. We want to be able to make choices for ourselves and our families that fit our needs and resources. We want access to quality education and affordable health care. We want good jobs paying livable wages. We want somebody to stand up with us against bullies, foreign and domestic. New Mexicans want a society that provides opportunities and a fair share of prosperity and success.
Voters supported sensible, realistic, positive candidates with real plans. They rejected fools, election deniers, and ill-qualified politicians. As a mom with deep family roots here in Santa Fe, I am proud to say that I am a citizen of a country where the voters’ voice is still heard.
Democrats must not get overconfident. We must continue to listen to and respect the values of our neighbors; we must offer the help that people need. We must support affordable housing in Santa Fe. We must deal with the homelessness, panhandlers, and litter that diminishes the beauty of our streets. We must move toward alternative energy resources, expand our economic base, providing greater educational opportunities that will support the future.
We must be willing to take the moon shot we heard about four years ago. I, for one, am relieved the pollsters were wrong and the voters were right, and am proud to be part of the work to make sure New Mexico keeps marching forward.
Senator Raphael Warnock: Four Election Triumphs in Two Years
By Frank Blechman
In his victory speech the Rev. Raphael Warnock, U.S. Senator from Georgia clearly articulated the lessons we should all draw from his four election triumphs in two years.
Trust the people. He said, “You cannot lead the people unless you love the people. You can’t love the people unless you know the people, and you can’t know the people unless you walk among the people. You cannot serve me if you cannot see me.” A campaign is about a candidate making a connection with people. All the money, the consultants, the staff, the volunteers, the media, the polling, and the strategizing are about how to do that. If those resources are not used well to make connections, the resources are worthless and the campaign will fail. He won because he reached out beyond a base with a message for all Georgians. He said, “I want all of Georgia to know, whether you voted for me or not, that every single day I am going to keep working for you. I’m proud of the bipartisan work I have done, and I intend to do more because I believe that at the end of the day, we are all Americans, and it is that covenant that drives me …”
Do not get discouraged. Warnock said, “The times are dark, but the light, the scripture says, shines in the darkness. And the darkness overcometh it not.” Even in a deep-red state like Georgia, voters are not monolithic blocs. They are human beings making their own decisions about what and who will be good for them and those they love. The voters chose a solid Republican roster of statewide officers — and Raphael Warnock. He won because accepted the long challenge required to bend the arc of history.
The work is not done. He said, “Let’s dance on the mountain because we deserve this. But tomorrow we go back down into the valley to do the work.” He added, “Let me be clear, just because people endured long lines that wrapped around buildings, some blocks long. Just because they endured the rain and the cold and all kinds of tricks in order to vote doesn’t mean that voter suppression does not exist. It simply means you the people have decided your voices will not be silent.” He won because his campaign was not a one-shot effort. It was a point in a decades-long struggle in Georgia.
And so, even though we live in a state with solid Democratic elected leadership, let us remember to trust the people, to reach out broadly, and work long-term toward our goal of justice and prosperity for all.
Paul Dirdak Speaks at Biden Rally
More than two dozen committed county party canvassers wore out shoe leather going door to door encouraging people to vote Democratic as well as helping them develop plans to get to the polls. At least 15 other occasional volunteers, and even more, canvassers, hit the streets following candidate rallies. Every knock counted.
To hear why one committed canvasser went day after day after day, check out Paul Dirdak’s speech at the Biden Rally on Albuquerque’s west side.
Excitement at the Canvassing Launch
Cheering, clapping, and rising to their feet, scores of Democratic Party volunteer door-knockers responded to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rousing sendoff Saturday, then fanned out across the city in a door-to-door effort to get out the vote in what has become no less than a battle to preserve American democracy.
“This is a remarkable moment,” Newsom said at the event, which filled the auditorium at county headquarters and then some. “Fear, anxiety, all are being weaponized to advance the cause that these Republicans have been promoting for years and years. They are on the precipice of something consequential unless you assert yourself and stand up and push back …
“I know we talk about every election being the most important election in our lifetime,” Newsom added. “It’s almost a cliché on top of a cliché. But think about what’s happened in the Supreme Court, voting rights, civil rights — we know contraceptive rights are coming next – LGBTQ rights” are under attack.
Republicans “want to bring us back to a pre-1973 America,” he said, in reference to the GOP-leaning Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed reproductive rights for every American, and the party’s plan to pass a nationwide ban on abortion.
Newsom, who pointed out that he used to own a home in Santa Fe and loves visiting the state, was preceded on the stage by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who gave the canvassing corps a number of talking points to help sell the party’s message for Nov. 8.
“We have the best free college program in the country,” she said. “We had an overall 4 percent increase in attendance and enrollment in college, 9 percent in community colleges. Forty-four thousand New Mexicans are going to college for free.
“In one year with free college, we added a thousand nurses to a state that needs thousands of nurses … We have the highest-paid educators in our region,” Grisham said. Universal child care is becoming a reality. “This is the cheapest place in the country for solar. … We have the largest wind energy farm in North America.”
The state has lowered taxes for working people and retirees, increased the minimum wage, and it is climbing out of its historically high rate of poverty.
Reproductive choice is essentially on the ballot in New Mexico, she said. “You (Republicans) want a constitutional amendment to ban abortion? I just got rid of that. They want to put it right back. Absolutely not.”
Earlier in the afternoon, 3rd District Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez appeared at the launch with Emily Cain, executive of Emily’s List, a national organization that promotes women in politics. Cain said Leger Fernandez possesses a “contagious” sense of joy, and the congresswoman was true to form, enthusiastically urging volunteers to devote themselves to the mission.
“Each door knock, each telephone call, each time you talk to your neighbor on the grocery line” contributes toward efforts to preserve democracy, she said, and Santa Fe plays a big role in that mission.
The fight, she said, is for the children “so that they can have the future we want them to have.”
Santa Fe County Democratic Chair Bernadette Vadurro thanked the volunteers for sacrificing their time “to knock on doors and talk to your friends and your neighbors, your children, to get out and vote.”
“This is truly the most important election of our lifetime,” she said. “Democracy is on the line. People’s rights are on the line.”
Check out the video of Gov. Newsom interviewed by CBS that was filmed at 1420 Cerrillos Rd. in the Kiva Room.